Right ventricular failure following heart transplantation--recovery after extended mechanical support.
Early graft failure, particularly right ventricular dysfunction, remains a significant determinant of early morbidity and mortality in heart transplant recipients. If conservative medical management fails to help recover cardiac allograft function, mechanical circulatory support either bridging to recovery or retransplantation remains the last option. We report on a 16-year-old patient with hypertropic nonobstructive cardiomyopathy who was weaned successfully from a right ventricular assist device (RVAD) after extended right ventricular mechanical support for three months following heart transplantation.
Yerebakan
Can
C
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, German Heart Institute Berlin, Berlin, Germany. can.yerebakan@med.uni-rostock.de
Buz
Semih
S
Huebler
Michael
M
Weng
Yuguo
Y
Weng
Yug
Y
Lehmkuhl
Hans
H
Hetzer
Roland
R
D000293:Adolescent; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology*; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D017211:Treatment Failure; D018497:Ventricular Dysfunction, Right / Q000209:etiology*